Chapter 16: The sixteenth day after retiring from the entertainment industry. Good night, brother.

When Sang Qiqi was told that Zhao Ba and others had left, she was not surprised at all.

With the intelligence and skills of Qiao Tianyi's fans, finding the nearby street thugs was already a challenge. However, the security on Huaishui Street, and indeed the entire Fuping District, was quite strict. It was impossible for these thugs to brazenly enter a house with knives and start a disturbance. Especially since Sang Qiqi had seen those thugs, they were as thin as monkeys, looking like they were malnourished and had gone without two meals a day. If they dared to challenge the strong men she had specially prepared for them head-on... they would probably eat protein powder in their next life.

Ignoring the various outrageous actions of Qiao Tianyi's fans, Sang Qiqi focused all her attention on her Weibo.

Although the time interval was short, Jiang Zhen's live broadcast had a huge impact. Sang Qiqi had received no less than 20 netizens' curious inquiries about paper-made products in her private messages on Weibo.

Thirteen of them were from other provinces.

Sang Qiqi regretfully told them that it was very difficult to mail large paper crafts. After all, paper crafts were just paper and would rot if pressed.

So if possible, we still support door-to-door pickup.

As for those netizens living in northern Beijing, they first added Sang Qiqi on WeChat. Some of them directly purchased ready-made items in the store, while others tried to ask Sang Qiqi to express the strange ideas in their minds.

For example, this customer named [卡期末] said his brother was a fisherman before he died, but his luck was bad and he often came up empty-handed. So, he hoped Sang Qiqi could make him a few fishing rods, and preferably some fish, so that he wouldn't be caught in the afterlife after his death.

It’s so sad to talk about it.

At the end of the term: There should be more types of fish, such as big black carp, black carp, bream, etc., and a few turtles and spicy strips to surprise him.

Sang Qiqi: “…”

After confirming the types and quantities of all paper products, Sang Qiqi gave the pick-up time and transferred the deposit at the end of the period.

After a few seconds of silence, Ka Qimo suddenly asked: "Can the urn be made into the shape of a fish? It would be best if someone else sat next to it, holding a fishing rod and casting bait into the fish-shaped urn. The bait would then become small fish fry. Is that okay?"

Sang Qiqi praised it as a "genius idea", and then replied: If you want to.

Card end: Then I will change the urn for my brother, thank you for your hard work, looking forward to the finished product/circle

After finishing the communication with Ka Qimo, Sang Qiqi opened other dialog boxes and confirmed them one by one.

By the time she finally breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing her aching shoulders and looking up, it was already completely dark outside. As she reached the door and was about to bring the muscular paper figures inside, Sang Qiqi seemed to notice something and tilted her head to look over. Sure enough, she saw the windows of the haunted house next door wide open. Bai Yingxin, an employee of the haunted house, was holding her chin with her hands, staring intently at the eight handsome men with an expression full of admiration.

Sang Qiqi was deeply grateful to Bai Yingxin for her one-stop funeral service, which became a hot topic on Weibo and opened an era in which it became well-known to the public.

So at this moment, she asked with extra care: "Would you like to watch it for a while longer?"

Bai Yingxin hadn't noticed Sang Qiqi's presence at all. Her sudden voice startled her, and she quickly ducked her head toward the window. But soon, she poked her head out again and whispered, "Will they come tomorrow?"

Sang Qiqi thought about it carefully and replied, "That depends on whether Qiao Tianyi's fans come to cause trouble."

Bai Yingxin: "They probably aren't in the mood to cause trouble anymore."

As she spoke, she shook her phone in her hand and explained to Sang Qiqi, who was obviously still unaware, "Someone broke the news that Qiao Tianyi's acting was terrible during the audition. His fans are probably too busy fighting against the black fans to bother you."

Terrible acting?

Sang Qiqi stroked her chin with her fingers, as if she had thought of something, a meaningful smile playing on her lips. Then, she shrugged at Bai Yingxin, "Then they probably won't be coming tomorrow. They're just bodyguards I hired."

Part-time male model.

This bodyguard is of really high quality.

Bai Yingxin sighed in her heart.

She watched for almost the entire afternoon and found everyone very good-looking.

The hunk on the left, number one, has a very straight nose and a small mole on the tip. At first glance, his expression is a bit cold, but when he smiles, he's a real puppy. The man in number two is no less impressive, a typical sunny boy, full of energy. Number three is even better, with very deep features. If he wore a suit... he'd be a total thug, with plenty of sexual energy. Number four's incredible proportions make him perfect for a model, and number five...

After making some crazy comments in her mind, she left with regret: "Forget it, forget it, it's just that I have to go off work, so let them go off work too."

Having said that, when Bai Yingxin looked at the male guests... oh no, the male bodyguards following Sang Qiqi into the funeral service to check out, her expression was still filled with regret.

“Is it that beautiful?”

A figure walked out of the lounge yawning, interrupting Bai Yingxin's appreciation.

The man glanced through the window at the glass door next door. Through the glass door, he could vaguely see several sturdy figures and the whole process of them becoming light.

Jingyu raised his eyebrows slightly, hooked his fingers on the bag of potato chips on the table and pulled it towards him, saying casually, "Have you ever heard of the saying 'all show and no substance', 'all show and no substance'?"

Bai Yingxin looked at the potato chips, calculating the expense in her mind, and then replied, "It's better than having no watch at all."

After saying that, his eyes fixed on Jingyu's thin arm.

He is so skinny and not good-looking at all.

Jingyu: "..."

Although, the expression was a bit too dirty.

-

After putting away the paper figures, Sang Qiqi was not in a hurry to go home. She planned to postpone the business hours.

She didn't need to sleep anyway.

After hanging a small sign on the glass door that read "The boss is out for something, please wait five minutes," Sang Qiqi quickly returned to the underworld and confirmed the orders for the past few days with a few ghosts who were responsible for paper-made products.

The netizens' ideas were all very strange, but Sang Qiqi communicated well with them, asked detailed questions, and even drew a few sketches. After seeing this, the kids patted their chests and said that there was absolutely no problem handing it over to them.

Sang Qiqi touched the youngest ghost. Although the little guy looked only twelve or thirteen years old, he had been in the underworld longer than her and could not be considered a hired child laborer.

She smiled and said, "I ordered takeout and will bring you some delicious food later."

The little ghosts cheered and floated around in place with great joy.

After saying goodbye to Xiao Gui, Sang Qiqi returned to the funeral service center. She first removed the small sign hanging on the door, then rubbed her hands and reopened Weibo.

——Qiao Tianyi’s black trending search, she had to join in the fun.

After an afternoon, the negative trending searches, initially ignored by fans and management, intensified, skyrocketing in popularity and firmly securing the top spot. Furthermore, the #Qiao Tianyi's acting is terrible# trending topic spawned even more content, such as #Who gave him the title of "Little Fu Rui"#, #Golden Crane Award for Best Actor#, #Song He's expression watching Qiao Tianyi's performance#, #ugly#, #Golden Crane Award judges are blind#, and #the best eye hospital in China#.

There are so many topics and the titles are so damaging that Qiao Tianyi's opponents would wake up laughing in their dreams in the middle of the night.

This opponent also includes Sang Qiqi.

Sang Qiqi clicked on the hashtag #Qiao Tianyi's acting sucks# and immediately spotted the marketing account pinned to the top. The seemingly unremarkable "in-circle melon-eating big-shot" personified the entertainment industry's bloody underbelly. Behind this "big-shot" stood a renowned paparazzi studio, known for their love of money and their reluctance to be criticized. Their first act upon receiving earth-shattering gossip was to demand payment from the individuals involved. So this time...

Either Qiao Tianyi's team didn't pay enough, or someone else had already paid and wanted to completely crush Qiao Tianyi, so the "big scoundrel in the circle" didn't inform Qiao Tianyi's team in advance and released the information directly.

Sang Qiqi guessed it was the latter possibility.

Otherwise, given Qiao Tianyi's character of not being able to tolerate others saying bad things about him, he would have to bear this loss with tears.

I guess... those celebrities who were used as scapegoats by Qiao Tianyi have started to retaliate.

Scanning the content on Weibo, the remarks of the "big melon-eating hand in the circle" were particularly sharp: It is hard to imagine that this is the acting of the Golden Crane Award for Best Actor. His facial expression is ferocious and stiff, his eyes are dull, and he cries and laughs like a fool with a dull mind. So how did this actor get the title?

The attached video was shaky, clearly a covert recording. In the video, Qiao Tianyi was in a spacious room, with director Song He, the film's producer, and the screenwriter sitting before him.

At first, Song He was obviously very satisfied with Qiao Tianyi and spoke to him in a very pleasant manner.

Before today, Song He had searched for many actors but hadn't found a suitable one. When he tried to contact Qiao Tianyi, he was told that Qiao Tianyi was going to play the leading male role in Li Cheng's new film. As a fellow director, Song He was aware of Li Cheng's status in the industry and knew that putting him and Li Cheng together would be a dead end.

Qiao Tianyi will definitely choose Licheng.

So he thought, forget it.

What's more, now that Qiao Tianyi's status has risen, his salary will naturally increase as well. It is very likely that he cannot afford the funds for this movie.

After barely convincing himself, Song He suppressed his regretful mood and was ready to spend some time studying other male actors in the circle. Suddenly, Qiao Tianyi's assistant Zhong Jie was exposed for murder and hiding the body, which caused a storm in the circle. Affected by this incident, Qiao Tianyi and Li Cheng's cooperation also fell through.

In fact, Song He couldn't figure it out. What did Zhong Jie's murder and hiding of the body have to do with Qiao Tianyi? Li Cheng's awareness of prevention was a bit exaggerated.

But it’s also good this way, as it allowed him to take advantage and seize the opportunity to pick up the movie star Qiao Tianyi.

During the time he spent contacting Qiao Tianyi and confirming the audition date, Song He spent his days with his nose in the air and his feet in the air, constantly mentioning his new play to everyone he met, then secretly grinning at the envious glances from others. And then, at night, he had three days of sweet dreams. He dreamed of himself standing on a podium, holding the Best Director trophy, counting the three billion yuan in box office revenue, feeling incredibly happy.

Until now.

As Qiao Tianyi performed, his expression changed from a smile to confusion, then to dullness, and finally to stiffness and doubt about life.

Song He's new film is a hotly anticipated crime drama. Qiao Tianyi plays a brilliant narcotics officer. On his journey, he faces a bitter enemy: a drug lord codenamed Nighthawk. Because of this lord, he lost his beloved family and like-minded companions, leaving him alone on the brink of danger. Now, he's shocked to discover that Nighthawk's identity is gradually overlapping with his informant.

The content of Qiao Tianyi's audition was that he discovered that the informant who had been in contact with him was actually Nighthawk himself. The interweaving of countless complex emotions such as realization, despair, shock, regret, and sadness allowed him to fully present this scene.

Qiao Tianyi’s initial shock was indeed well acted, and he instantly brought everyone present into the play.

But in the blink of an eye, Song He noticed that Qiao Tianyi's face was strangely ferocious for a second, and then the tense and suffocating atmosphere Qiao Tianyi had created disappeared without a trace. His face did not show the emotions that a character in the play should have, but instead, inexplicably, a hint of panic leaked out.

This panic interrupted his excellent performance and caused Song He and his group to frown.

Song He frowned and asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you?"

Qiao Tianyi's face was pale. Regaining control of his body should have been a joyous occasion, but at this moment, he was filled with panic and bewilderment. His gaze swept to the left, where a figure shrouded in darkness stood in profound silence, its eyes fixed on him. Though the figure remained silent, Qiao Tianyi could sense the other's refusal.

He moved his lips, but the shadow did not compromise and instead took a step back.

At the same time, Song He, who hadn't received a response, looked increasingly strange: "Brother Qiao?"

The questioning voice was amplified in the strange silence. Qiao Tianyi suddenly came to his senses and forced a smile at Song He: "No, nothing."

Song He said, "Then shall we continue?"

Qiao Tianyi had no idea how to proceed.

He didn't come from a professional background; he entered the industry by relying on popularity, without any serious training in acting. Fans believed he was incredibly gifted, a genius at acting, but only he knew it was all a lie. If it weren't for Fu Rui, he wouldn't have so many fans, so many resources, or even that coveted Best Actor trophy.

Pinching his palms with his fingers, he struggled to follow the memory of when Fu Rui possessed him, trying to express various emotions on his face, until Song He's expression became more and more strange. When he realized that his imitation was not good at all, he stopped abruptly, took a step back, threw down a sentence "Sorry, I don't feel well" and ran out of the room.

Looking at Qiao Tianyi's almost fleeing figure, Song He looked at the screenwriter and producer beside him in confusion.

After a long pause, the screenwriter finally mumbled, "What's going on? Is this the acting expected of a movie star?"

The secretly recorded video ends here.

[My Lord Qingtang, it was unfair that Tan Hong lost.]

[This emotional change can make you a best actor? Then I can do it too /doge]

[It feels weird. The shock in the first second was very well expressed, but I really can't understand what happened after that. It's like he's become a completely different person.]

[Who gave him the nickname "Little Fu Rui"?! Our Fu Rui wouldn't act like this even if he wasn't feeling well, okay?!]

[The person above, Qiao Tianyi's acting in "Searching for Family" is really like Fu Rui. I've studied it, and his suppressed crying scene is exactly the same as Fu Rui's, even the number of times his eyelashes tremble is exactly the same! I think he must have learned from Fu Rui, but he learned it very well, he is an excellent student. But this video... it's hard to describe.]

[No, am I the only one concerned about why Sang Qiqi hasn't come out to join in the fun yet?]

[I'm telling you guys, please don't be so hateful towards my brother. He already said he wasn't feeling well. Wasn't that one second of lag a clear sign of discomfort?]

[What should I do? Even though I look down on our Brother Qiao’s acting, he still beat out Tan Hong and won the Best Actor award.]

[Tan Hong fans, please stop jumping. It’s a fact that my brother is in poor health, and it’s also a fact that he won the Best Actor award/smile]

[Why was someone secretly recording the audition? Director Song He, should we give him an explanation?]

After spending a full two hours reading through the hot topics, comments, and netizens' comments, Sang Qiqi seemed a little unsatisfied.

She dug up a Weibo post where she angrily criticized fans: "What popularity does your brother have to take advantage of? Your brother's name is fake, his nose is fake, his height is fake, even his acting skills are fake. Why didn't they beat your brother up on March 15th?"

Click to forward again, and add a word: Unlike me, I have known since childhood that I can’t do anything false/cute

Netizen: “…”

I knew it, with Qiao Tianyi's crappy acting and performance, how could Sang Qiqi not come out and give him a hard kick.

[Comfortable]

[I waited all afternoon and finally got what I wanted. Now I feel so relaxed and ready to take a shower and go to bed.]

[I don’t know what you’re busy with if you don’t eat melons every day @桑柒柒, don’t be so slow next time]

[The funeral industry is certainly important, but Qiao Tianyi's jokes are even more important to watch. Fortunately, our big hands are greedy for money, otherwise by the time you come online, the melon would have been taken off the table.]

[Eating shit is not as good as eating hot shit]

Sang Qiqi: “…”

She responded to the netizen who accused her of being too hot to eat shit with a perfectly mocking smile. Sang Qiqi whistled, and a pure black crow flew through the crack in the window and landed on the table, its sharp beak smoothing its smooth feathers. Sang Qiqi gently stroked its head and whispered a few words, and the crow tilted its head.

Sang Qiqi sprinkled a handful of rice on the table.

The crow still tilted its head.

Sang Qiqi: “…”

After a few seconds of silence, she resigned herself to opening the box of fried chicken she hadn't finished and pushed it in front of Crow.

The crow lowered its head and pecked twice at the chicken wings covered with honey sauce, then grabbed the entire box with its claws, spread its wings, and disappeared without a trace.

Sang Qiqi looked out the window and muttered, "I wonder if it'll get an upset stomach. If it does, I'll have to pay for its medical treatment."

It's a loss no matter how you think about it.

-

Qiao Tianyi left Tongzhou City overnight and went to Chengjiang.

Chengjiang is located in Yang Province, a relatively underdeveloped region. A previous variety show, focusing on small-time figures from various industries, had one stop in Chengjiang. After filming, Qiao Tianyi heard from Zhong Jie that there was a historic Taoist temple in the suburbs of Chengjiang. It was said to be very effective, with many people reporting that the wishes they made there eventually came true.

It just so happened that Qiao Tianyi was quite free at that time, so he took Wang Hao and Zhong Jie with him.

It rained heavily on the day of his visit. Qiao Tianyi, enduring the sticky rain and weather, climbed ninety-nine steps, arriving drenched in sweat at the Taoist temple. Adhering to the principle of "since you're already there," Qiao Tianyi bowed earnestly for a long time until a slender figure in a bright yellow Taoist robe, holding a whisk, appeared behind him.

The man claimed to be a Taoist priest in this Taoist temple, and his Taoist name was Tongxuan.

Tongxuan asked him what he wanted to do there, and he answered truthfully: "I want to become famous."

He wants to become extremely famous, have his popularity soar, and then get all kinds of S-level resources to create his own era in the entertainment industry.

Qiao Tianyi didn't feel embarrassed when he expressed this wish. What artist in the industry doesn't have this wish? At most, he was being straightforward and saying everything he was thinking. If his fans knew about it, they would probably praise him for his sincerity.

Then he asked jokingly: "Master, can my wish come true?"

Tong Xuan swept his whisk upon hearing this, and the white tail landed on Qiao Tianyi's arm, making him feel a little itchy. Before he could brush the tail away, he heard Tong Xuan's low and somewhat gloomy voice ringing in his ears. Tong Xuan said, "That depends on what you are willing to pay."

Qiao Tianyi's nonchalant attitude gradually faded, and he stared into Tongxuan's eyes.

He paid the most useless thing after becoming famous - money, in exchange for Fu Rui's ghost.

Tong Xuan gave him a jade pendant and a talisman paper. The jade pendant was Fu Rui's usual place of residence, and the talisman paper was used to alert Fu Rui and make Fu Rui a qualified tool. After having Fu Rui, Qiao Tianyi asked Wang Hao to tear him a variety show related to acting. Although he only appeared in a few episodes, his acting skills were recognized by many directors, acting teachers, and senior actors on the scene.

Later, one of the directors handed him a script for a TV series.

After the TV series was released, his acting skills were appreciated by more people.

Some netizens even said that they saw the shadow of Fu Rui in him.

This was inevitable, because during filming, he handed his body over to Fu Rui, who then performed every scene. In other words, it was Fu Rui who was acting in Qiao Tianyi's body.

Qiao Tianyi felt a little guilty, but Wang Hao seemed to have found the right marketing direction. He bought a lot of online trolls and gave Qiao Tianyi the title of "Little Fu Rui".

Half a month later, Qiao Tianyi auditioned for the role of the male lead in "Searching for Relatives".

Finally, thanks to Fu Rui's superb acting skills, he won the Best Actor Award at the Golden Crane Awards.

During this period, Fu Rui did resist, but the talisman paper given by Tongxuan could burn Fu Rui's ghost. Although it was invisible to the naked eye, every time the talisman paper was used, Fu Rui's hideous and painful expression and hoarse screams could be clearly displayed in front of Qiao Tianyi.

This kind of pain that was worse than death made Fu Rui more and more silent. He became more and more like a machine, possessing Qiao Tianyi at his reminder. When the filming was over, Zhong Jie would come over with a small bag containing the talisman paper given by Tongxuan, forcing Fu Rui to leave Qiao Tianyi's body and enter the jade pendant.

Qiao Tianyi thought that Fu Rui would maintain this choice until one day he became kind-hearted or lost interest in acting and let her go.

However, he didn't expect that Fu Rui would betray him at the critical moment and gave him a loud slap in the face, making him lose face in front of everyone.

Qiao Tianyi had already heard from Wang Hao that his audition video had been leaked and posted online, but Qiao Tianyi had more important matters on his mind. He needed to seek the help of Taoist Master Tongxuan to regain control of Fu Rui. He wanted to teach Fu Rui a harsh lesson, to show her the consequences of going against his will.

Pushing open the door of the Taoist temple, Tongxuan was kneeling in front of a huge golden statue, with his eyes closed and silently meditating.

He stood behind Tong Xuan and cut straight to the point: "Master Tong Xuan, Fu Rui is disobedient. I need you to teach him a lesson. After that, I will give you an extra percentage of the income."

Tong Xuan replied in a deep voice: "No money this time."

Qiao Tianyi was a little surprised and asked, "Then what do you want?"

Tong Xuan didn't say it directly, but just said: "You will know it later."

The lack of an answer made Qiao Tianyi feel a little uneasy, but when he thought of the embarrassment Fu Rui had caused him, he was furious and nodded immediately: "Okay."

Tongxuan gave Qiao Tianyi a strange-looking doll with strange words written on the back. Qiao Tianyi looked at it for a long time and vaguely felt that it seemed to be someone's birth date.

He frowned: "What is Fu Rui's birth date?"

Tong Xuan opened his eyes with his back to Qiao Tianyi. There was disgust for Qiao Tianyi's stupidity in his eyes, but his tone remained calm: "Fu Rui is dead, and his birth date is no longer useful."

"Whose is this, then?"

"Fu Rui's biological brother." Tong Xuan said, "When a person is no longer afraid of the pain of a life worse than death, it is time to start with the person he cares about the most. With this doll, you can do whatever you want to Fu Liu."

Tong Xuan stood up, met Qiao Tianyi's gaze, which hadn't fully understood yet, and explained in more detail: "This doll is Fu Liu himself."

Qiao Tianyi finally understood.

Holding the doll, Qiao Tianyi left the Taoist temple contentedly and boarded a plane directly back to Tongzhou City.

It was the dead of night, the sky was so dark that one couldn't see one's hand in front of one's face, and the huge airport seemed empty. Qiao Tianyi was too lazy to ask Wang Hao to pick him up, so he walked to the door and towards the ride-hailing car park.

Pop.

A hand suddenly rested on Qiao Tianyi's shoulder.

Qiao Tianyi was stunned and turned back subconsciously.

With a loud bang, the sudden fist went straight to the top of his head. Qiao Tianyi stared with his eyes wide open and didn't react before he felt his body begin to fall backwards because of the huge force.

At the same time, Sang Qiqi, who was standing in front of him, retracted her hand, blew on her fist, blinked, and said politely, "Good night, brother."